Project Scope and Significance

Al-Qasatel Bridge (B46) lies on the M10 motorway between Latakia and Ariha. The General Establishment for Road Communications, under the Ministry of Transport, oversees the rehabilitation of the bridge, with the stated aim of returning the bridge to service while keeping traffic on this road safe and continuous. In a SANA report of 13 September 2026, the Establishment's works supervisor described the motorway as a vital road linking the Syrian coast with the northern regions.

Background

On 10 July 2025 SANA reported that a technical committee had begun field work to assess damage on the Ariha–Latakia road, with the inspection focused on a bridge at the Al-Qasatel site; a committee member described serious structural damage and said a detailed memorandum of proposed repairs was being prepared. On 9 September 2025 the Establishment's acting head told SANA that it was preparing comprehensive maintenance of the Ariha–Latakia motorway and completing the contracting procedures for the Al-Qasatel Bridge maintenance before work began.

Works Programme

On 28 April 2026 the director of the Establishment's Latakia branch told SANA that the motorway maintenance programme includes specialised works on three bridges, the most prominent being Al-Qasatel, whose whole upper part would be replaced with a new concrete slab, together with a temporary traffic diversion. He added that the motorway maintenance works began in early 2025, after a survey of the whole road from the Al-Basa junction to Ariha, about 100 km long. Officials quoted in the same report said the programme also reaches other locations along the motorway, such as repairing potholes and cracks and rehabilitating two bridges in the Al-Humrat area of Kansaba subdistrict.

Technical Works

On 5 May 2026 the director of the Ministry of Transport's media office said the works would take between two and four months, as part of the ministry's plan to improve the central roads and make their infrastructure safer. He said they cover repairing the damaged parts of the bridge, improving its structural safety, replacing its whole upper part with a new prestressed concrete slab, and maintaining the concrete (New Jersey) barriers along the road.

On 16 May 2026 Establishment Director Muath Najjar told SANA that the works teams had removed the 12 damaged prestressed girders from the bridge's final span, ahead of casting a prestressed concrete slab 36 metres long to the approved technical and engineering specifications. He said the work is under direct engineering supervision, at an accelerated pace and with strict attention to safety and quality procedures, and that the Establishment is continuing its maintenance and rehabilitation plans on the other axes of the road network.

Traffic Diversion

To keep traffic moving, the works teams built a detour of about 175 metres on the old road between Latakia and Aleppo, alongside its former alignment. The Establishment announced on 5 May 2026 that traffic beneath the bridge was being moved onto it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which authority oversees the rehabilitation?

The General Establishment for Road Communications, which operates under Syria's Ministry of Transport. Its Latakia branch director said in April 2026 that the motorway maintenance works had been contracted after the damage was documented.

What are the main technical works on the bridge?

Removal of 12 damaged prestressed girders from the bridge's final span and construction of a new 36-metre prestressed concrete slab, as part of replacing the bridge's upper part, together with maintenance of the concrete barriers along the road.

How is traffic being managed during the works?

Since 5 May 2026 traffic beneath the bridge has been moved onto an alternative detour of about 175 metres built alongside the old road between Latakia and Aleppo.

How does this project relate to the wider road network?

It forms part of the Establishment's maintenance and rehabilitation plans across Syria's road network, which, according to the Establishment, aim to sustain infrastructure and traffic movement. SANA describes the works as part of the effort to rehabilitate the damaged central road network and raise its technical and service efficiency.

Update — 2026-06-08

Comprehensive maintenance of the bridge began on site. According to SANA on 5 May 2026, the General Establishment for Road Communications announced that traffic beneath Al-Qasatel Bridge on the Latakia–Ariha motorway had been moved onto a newly built bypass alongside the old road so that the works could begin. The scope of the works and their stated duration of two to four months, given by the Ministry of Transport's media office director, are set out in the Technical Works section.

Other works on the same motorway. On 8 June 2026 SANA reported that the Establishment's Latakia branch was carrying out maintenance and rehabilitation of expansion joints on the motorway's bridges, about one kilometre before the al-Zubar junction toward Idlib, under contract No. 1 of 2025. The agency quoted Musab Ahmad, director of the branch, as saying the works cover treating and rehabilitating the expansion joints so as to preserve the bridges' structural safety, while keeping traffic flowing.

UPDATE 13.09.2026, Slab cast on one lane; supervisor says works nearing completion

On 13 September 2026 SANA quoted the Establishment's supervisor of the bridge maintenance works as saying that work on Al-Qasatel Bridge (B46) was close to finishing. The slab of the lane running from Latakia toward Ariha had been cast, and reinforcement for the slab of the opposite lane was almost complete, with casting planned within the next two days. Cable tensioning, waterproofing, concrete protection and an asphalt layer would follow, and he expected all works at the bridge site to be completed within about two weeks (his estimate).

He added that other works were under way on the road, including treating a subsidence section with a base asphalt layer, expected to take about a week, and repairing other damaged locations to the approved technical specifications. SANA also reported that the Establishment is taking part in carrying out the works, within a maintenance project to address damage and raise safety on this vital road.

UPDATE 22.10.2026, Establishment's director general says Latakia–Ariha motorway project is over 80% complete

On 22 October 2026 SANA published a report on the General Establishment for Road Communications' road maintenance and rehabilitation plan across several governorates. In it, the Establishment's director general said progress on the project to rehabilitate the Latakia–Ariha motorway had passed 80%, and the report adds that completion is expected by the end of 2026, depending on the weather. The motorway runs for about 100 kilometres from the Al-Basa area to Ariha. He said the project's total cost exceeded US$3 million and includes specialised bridge works, among them the reconstruction of Al-Qasatel Bridge and a road diversion beneath it.

The same report quotes him as saying that maintenance of the expansion joints on the Ariha–Latakia road has been completed (100%).